When Lisa Dlouhy takes over the Government of the Student Body vice presidency in April, she will be bringing a female voice to the male-dominated executive position for the first time since 1996.

Carolyn Jones, who was elected GSB vice president in 1995, was the last female chief executive of GSB. Males were elected over females in the executive races in 1997 and 1998, and no females ran in the 1999 executive race.

This spring, two females were on the ballot for vice president, Dlouhy and Kara Ladlie, who joined forces with Matt Welk in the executive race.

President-elect Ben Golding, senior in construction engineering, teamed up with Dlouhy, junior in genetics, to win the executive race and bring the female dimension to the administrative office.

The personality and style diversity a male and female team can bring to GSB will be beneficial, Dlouhy said.

“We have different leadership styles,” she said. “I think we can touch a broad range of students.”

The same gender imbalance is found on the GSB senate, where women account for only 18 percent of seated senators. Female senators fill seven of the 38 senate seats.

In addition to Dlouhy’s induction to the executive office, 10 of the 18 female senate candidates were elected in this spring’s elections.

Some senators said women deserve equal representation in student government.

“There’s a very small number of females on GSB,” said Melissa Brunia, Buchanan Hall senator. “That’s something I noticed from the very beginning. It’s just not representational.”

In general, females historically have not been as active in politics as men, which may account for the lack of female participation in GSB, some senators said.

“I think politics as a subject is daunting to females because it is a primarily male-dominated area,” said Jessica Rohlfing, Panhellenic.

Brunia agreed GSB is not responsible for the low numbers of females on the senate. Instead, she said, it is a “societal problem.”

“I don’t think it is GSB’s fault,” Brunia said. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in females at Iowa State to be active in politics.”

Dlouhy said women are not the only group that is underrepresented.

“I think there should be more variety in GSB in general,” she said. “What we need to do is focus on getting those underrepresented groups involved.”

With Dlouhy in the vice-presidential office and almost a quarter of next year’s senate made up of females, Brunia said GSB is heading in the right direction.

“I do think that having Lisa Dlouhy as vice president is a great step for us,” she said.